Your Greatest Enemy is Yourself
by Nitro Indigo
Summary: [Six Pokémon Challenge] Those who have not been hurt cannot see the blue sky. On a journey you hesitate to walk on, your life will shine. Keep on walking, because the sky is there.
1. Fall before you learn to fly (Archeops)

I wonder what flying feels like?

Ever since I was a little Archen, I've been trying to learn how to fly. I usually ended up falling after a few seconds. The humans all say it's because my species just aren't built to fly, but I believe that the reason I can't fly is because of fear. While falling is a big concern, there are things I should be more scared of – all of the dangerous, terrifying creatures with all sorts of powers that live in this world. I could freeze, or be electrified, or crushed… I think of all of those things while trying to fly, and they end up distracting me and I lose concentration.

I'm hopeless. A Flying-type who can't even fly. A Pokémon who's afraid of what Pokémon can do.

I live in a Pokémon reserve, but I want to have a trainer. Maybe they'll help me get over all of my fears. Apparently, my species were extinct for a long time until they were revived by science. I find it to be a rather strange concept – once you're dead, you're gone for good, right? Concepts like that are too complicated for me…

Thankfully, the other Pokémon here don't make fun of me for this. Then again, they've probably never seen an Archeops before.

So I guess I'm just going to have to try myself. Where to start? Maybe I could try jumping between tree branches, but I'd need to climb a tree first. Not easy. Any gaps I could jump over? Well, there's that river… That's it, the river! If I fall, I'll fall into water, which won't hurt too much. Hopefully.

Well, here goes nothing…

I make my way over to the river in the Pokémon reserve. The sun is beginning to set, causing the river's waters to sparkle. I only have one chance to practise flying here; if I fall, my feathers will get waterlogged and I'll have to wait for them to dry off, which could take a while.

I've got to do it! I've got to do it! I've got to be brave! But what if I- no, I shouldn't think about things like that. I shouldn't!

I practise moving my wings up and down before jumping bravely over the river. I jump forwards, and once I'm about to fall I start flapping my wings. Although I'm clumsy, I manage to make it to the other side in one piece, without getting completely soaked.

…I did it! I learned how to fly. Even though it wasn't very good, I can always keep on improving. I'll work on my flying every day until I perfect it, and I'll eventually begin to take it for granted. I've got to say, I'm rather proud of myself. And for the first time in my life, I'm truly happy.

…What's that white Pokémon in the sky?


	2. All is one, one is all (Deerling)

My name is Elm Leaf, a Deerling, and I live in a large herd of others of my kind. Living in a herd is useful, because it will be harder for predators to catch any specific members. Although we do sometimes lose some of our own, young Deerling like me are told that it is only the natural order of the world. So how come I can't get over… Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning.

It was a peaceful spring day, nearly summer, and my herd was looking for a new place to move to. We had to do that a lot. There's only so much grass in the world. My friend Cerise and I were discussing where we could possibly live.

"How about the place near that stream?" she said. Cerise was very talkative. I used to be talkative too…  
"Maybe, but there's a lot of rocks there. I don't like stepping on rocks," I replied.  
"Well wherever we end up, I hope it's a good place!" she exclaimed.

I'd been friends with her for as long as I remember. One summer, it was really hot, and to cool down we played in a river together. Some male Deerling were bothering me once, and she bravely told them to go away. Such great memories…

Oh, Cerise…

* * *

"Okay, herd, we're on the move!" shouted the leader of the group, a large male Sawsbuck. My kind are very fast runners, and we all ran as fast as we could to our new location. "Watch out for any predators!"

And so we ran for miles and miles without tiring. We ran through grasslands, across rivers, near forests, and all sorts of other locations.

Eventually, it was getting dark, and we had decided to temporarily stop for the night. The ground was rocky, and there were a few trees in the area, so we wouldn't be completely out in the open. Me and Cerise moved to under one of the trees.

"Um… Elmie? I think something's coming…" said Cerise, looking at the horizon.  
"Whatever it is, it's nothing to worry about. Just let me get to sleep…" I yawned.

But little did I know…

* * *

"WAKE UP, EVERYONE!" shouted a female Sawsbuck. "RUN!"

There was a lot of commotion as everyone woke up. I could hear running in the distance, and it was coming closer…

"ARCANINE ARE COMING!"

Arcanine are one of my kind's natural predators. I don't understand why you humans find the concept of Pokémon eating other Pokémon strange. It's only a fact of life.

We quickly gathered into a group again, Cerise and I sticking together. The two of us went everywhere together. The Arcanine were getting closer and closer and closer…

We'd been running for what felt like a while, but the Arcanine pack still hadn't given up. I didn't know they had _that_ much stamina. The rocky ground was starting to wear on my hooves, but I had to keep running.

Suddenly, Cerise tripped over on a rock. The two of us were near the back of the group, and my kind can't really get up easily after falling over. But I couldn't look back. I couldn't. I had to keep running forward. I had to. I had to survive.

"Elmie!"

"Cerise…!"

* * *

What happened after that was all a blur. The next thing I remember is eventually making it to a grassland with less rocky ground. The old Sawsbuck who warned us that the Arcanine were coming wanted to talk to the whole herd.

"We regret to inform you that not everyone survived the attack," she said. She then started listing off the names of various members of the herd I didn't know. Death was part of the natural order of the world, right? But then I was shocked when she said a certain name: Cerise.

I couldn't believe it. Cerise, who would stand up for me when the other Deerling bothered me. Cerise, who I played with in a river on a really hot summer's day. Cerise, who was always there for me.  
Cerise, who I didn't believe when she warned me that something was coming.  
That Cerise couldn't be dead.

I didn't notice it at first, but I started crying. The Sawsbuck seemed to notice, though.

"Elm Leaf, you don't need to cry. Cerise may be gone, yes, but that's just the way the world works," she said, trying to comfort me.

"You don't understand!" I angrily responded. "Cerise wasn't just part of some systematic world. Cerise was my friend… my closest companion… Don't you understand?!"

Anything the Sawsbuck tried to say to me at the time was lost on me. I was too angry to accept what was going on. I never thought I'd have to deal with something like this at such a young age.

I couldn't think clearly for days afterwards.

* * *

What's that white Pokémon in the sky…?

After a few days, I managed to calm down and think clearly. Cerise may be gone, but on the other end of the spectrum, the Arcanine got something good in return. Maybe losing a close friend like that was some kind of lesson for me. If I don't lose things, how will I learn to cope? Eventually, I will join Cerise, and all of the other members of our herd we lost. They may not have meant much to me, but some other members of the herd must've been as distraught as I was. I'm still not sure if I'll ever get over losing Cerise, but it's something I'll just have to live with. I still sometimes remember that day and start to cry. But sadness is perfectly normal, and it's okay to miss someone who died. Even if there are some things we can never mend, it all worked out fine in the end.

You can't gain anything without giving something in return. I like to call that equivalent exchange.


	3. The Spirit of the Desert (Hippopotas)

It was my fault I got lost. It was my fault I was careless. Why are they blaming themselves?

I suppose I should explain. My story begins on an average desert day. The sky was clear – not good. I live in a group of Hippopotas – such as myself – and Hippowdon, and or species have the power over sandstorms and thrive best in them, but we need wind to create a sandstorm, which there was none of. Because deserts are mostly the same for miles, I ended up not knowing where I was going, since I couldn't just follow a sandstorm. The elders always warned us that a strange monster lurked in the desert. Not to mention, my curiosity often gets the better of me. So I ended up wandering away from the group, not even realizing I was lost for hours.

It was starting to get dark. Desert nights were very cold, and I wouldn't want to get caught alone here. There were Skorupi active here at night, and they could poison me. I had never been alone before. That night was the first time I was truly scared.

And on that night, I was getting worried when I heard a strange sound, like a cross between buzzing and singing. I looked around, trying to find where it was coming from, and I saw a small sandstorm. I started running towards it, thinking I had found my family group. Boy, I was wrong.

As I got closer to the sandstorm, I noticed a long-tailed, winged Pokémon. I'd heard stories of a Pokémon that looked like this, but I didn't know what its name was. Whatever it was, though, it was _terrifying_. I think it wanted me to get out of its territory _now_.

The Pokémon screeched at me. Its screech was ear-splitting, and caused me to cringe. It tried to scratch me with its huge claws, but it failed. It tried to strike me with its long tail, and it succeeded...

My world turned colder and darker than the desert night. And then…

* * *

"You're awake!"

The next thing I knew, I was in a different part of the desert. I opened my eyes, and was surrounded by my family group.

"What… happened?" I asked.  
"We found you out cold near a big, scary Pokémon's territory!" It was a female Hippopotas who was younger than me.  
"Children, children," said an old Hippowdon, "that Pokémon was a Flygon. It is a desert dragon that does not welcome strangers."  
"I'm so sorry!" the Hippopotas exclaimed. "We didn't realize you were gone! There's so many in our group, it's hard to keep track of everyone!"  
"We spent hours looking for you," said the Hippowdon. "We are sorry for losing you."  
"I'm okay, I'm okay…" I said.

As I said, why are they blaming themselves? It was my fault for getting lost. It was my fault for being careless. I promise never to get lost like this again. I promise to be more careful. But I shouldn't doubt myself for this one incident.

I survived, and that's the important thing.


	4. A Beedrill I am not (Kakuna)

I'm not a very patient Pokémon. For a few days now, I've been waiting to evolve. A lot of Kakuna in this same tree are also waiting to evolve, along with some Metapod, and some Silcoon, and some Cascoon. Waiting to evolve is boring. You stay in one place, waiting for something to happen, completely open to predators. But it's got to be worth the wait, right?

You see, Beedrill, from what I've heard, aren't really all that well-liked. They're not even popular among beginning trainers. Sure, Beedrill can apparently "Mega Evolve", whatever that means, but apparently this supposed Mega Evolution thing is so rare that most Pokémon will live their entire lives without ever seeing it. Even still, from what I've seen Caterpie is more popular among beginning trainers – apparently humans find Butterfree "cute" or something. So the chances of me ever getting caught are low, which I such as shame, because trained Pokémon tend to live longer than wild ones. I'll probably get caught by a Taillow before I even evolve at this rate. No, I shouldn't think things like that…

Being bored like this causes me to be really pessimistic. I don't have much to think about right now. But waiting means that something great will happen, right? Maybe. I hope I'll be wonderful when I evolve. I'll be able to defeat those all too threatening Taillow that the Caterpie are terrified of! Well, maybe not defeat. That's a bit too ambitious.

I suppose that while I'm waiting to evolve, I should think of positive things instead. I shouldn't worry about what _could_ happen, but instead look forward to what _will_ happen. That way, I'll be the greatest Beedrill who ever lived. Okay, maybe that's a bit too ambitious. I should just try being a generally great Beedrill for now.

Wait… is my shell cracking…?


	5. It's okay if you fall (Togetic)

As a Togetic, it is my duty to spread happiness. Or at least, I think it is…

In Toge hierarchy, once a Togepi evolves into a Togetic, they are required to travel the world until the higher-ups decided that they're "worthy" of evolving into Togekiss. Even human-owned Togetic, such as myself, have to do this. I miss my trainer, even though I only see him about once a year. I wonder if he worries about me sometimes… and that lonely Deerling, and that Archeops who wants to fly, and all the other Pokémon I've met and remembered… I wonder if they ever think about me?

Needless to say, this wandering lifestyle just isn't for me. I'd like to stay somewhere, but I don't know where I truly belong. If I admitted this in my species' homeland, I'd be promptly punished. So what do I do?

I suppose questioning things I can't answer won't help. So one day, I decided to tell someone about this – a Pokémon I cross paths with often, an Altaria. Contrary to what you humans believe, not all Pokémon speak the same language, so it took me a while to understand her. I still don't undersand her sometimes.

"Oh, Altaria, what do I do?" I asked her, desperately. I told her all about my troubles.  
"Well, child," said the Altaria, "a duty you don't want to do isn't a duty at all." Or at least that's what I understood.  
"But Altaria, you don't understand. You don't know what Toge society is really like… If you try to abandon it, they'll…" I couldn't bring myself to finish that sentence.  
"Togetic, you must understand. It's okay if you fall. You are you, and that makes you wonderful!"

I took Altaria's words in, without seriously thinking about them, and then I quietly flew away.

* * *

You humans often think of Togekiss being nice Pokémon. That's not necessarily true. In the place members of my kind hide themselves away in, informally known as the Toge Homeland, they can be very cruel to those who disobey them. Shiny Stones are rare, so there are very few Togekiss in the world, and they are all very powerful. I've seen a Togekiss get angry before, and their Air Slashes can destroy several objects at once.

I eventually ended up in a forest in a faraway region. Maybe spending some time in a peaceful place would help me think clearer? In the forest, a Poochyena seemed interested in me and seemed to want me to follow it. I followed it across the mossy ground and tight corridors of branches. Eventually, the Poochyena stopped moving, and looked towards a small clearing. It must have found something it wanted me to see.

That something was a small, white Pokémon, with a few red and blue triangle patterns… a Togetic, like me. Someone who would truly understand me. I hope.

 _Well, here goes nothing…_

"Umm… hello?" I asked, nervously.  
"Yes, what is it?" the other Togetic replied, before turning around. The Togetic sounds distinctly male.  
I tried to tell him everything. I tried to tell him about how I was doubting myself and my duty, and how I was worried about being punished for it. But I can't. I'm too nervous to. All I managed to say was: "Wh… why are you here?"  
"Oh…" said the other Togetic. "I was just visiting my friend here, that Poochyena. He seems to have guided you here."  
"Well I'm here because… because… I… I'm… not really sure where to go," I stuttered.  
"Is something the matter?"  
"I'm… I'm…" my voice went quiet. "I'm not good at being a Togetic… and I was surprised to see another one here…"  
The other Togetic paused for a moment, as if trying to figure out what I said.  
"You seem desperate. I'd be happy to help… explain, please."

I told him my story, including my conversation with the Altaria. I nervously anticipated his response.

"You're worrying too much," he finally said.  
"What…?"  
"You're overreacting. The Togekiss in the homeland aren't _that_ bad. Did you have a bad experience with one? Or did you just believe the rumours? Whatever the case, if you're in need of genuine help, in this case, you doubting yourself, I'm sure they'd be fine with it."  
"Re… really?" I started to feel ashamed for getting so upset, for doubting myself. Why had I overreacted like that?  
"They'd only punish someone if they did something such as attack and severely injure wild Pokémon without provocation. And besides, I don't think you'd count as a deserter."  
"Well… I'm glad I had someone to talk to who understood me. I suppose I should go to the homeland, then…"  
"Well, would you like me to come with you?"

I took the other Togetic's hand, and together we soared into the twilight sky.

"You don't need to feel bad about doubting yourself," he said. "I'm sure you made a lot of Pokémon happy, and I'm sure they're thinking about you right now. It's okay if you fall. You are you, and that makes you wonderful."


	6. What is a legend, anyway? (Heatran)

I live in a volcano on an island near a cold region, and all of the Pokémon here seem to think I'm really important. They all seem to be scared of me, even when I clearly show no intention of attacking them. Many humans have tried and failed to capture me. They all seem to think I'm one of a kind, and some kind of god. Truth is, I'm actually just one of many Heatran in the world. My species is solitary, and there aren't many volcanoes in the world, so we're kind of hard to find.

I kind of understand why humans are so obsessed with us. They want to see something interesting, use those weird flashing box things, and send a piece of paper home. Okay, so not many humans go into the volcano, but that's beside the point.

And as for the Pokémon here? Well, I'm certainly a lot bigger than any of them, and they must assume that bigger things are more powerful. But they've got no reason to think that I'm inherently stronger than them; my speciality is magma, which most of the Pokémon who live here are very resistant to.

I'd almost want to say I like my "important" status, but that's a rather prideful thing to think, and it's not really all that great. While not being bothered by other Pokémon is rather convenient, it's lonely having no company other than the occasional trainer who comes and fails to capture me. I honestly rather _want_ to be captured; then I'll be able to see all sorts of places, and Pokémon won't be hesitant to interact with me. I hope, at least.

Wait… I can hear human footsteps outside of the rocky room I'm currently in. Is this a trainer coming to capture me? Please be a trainer coming to capture me. I'll put up a good fight, but at this point I just want someone to be with…

The human walks into the room, but it's so dark that I can't really see what they look like. Instead of hesitating, then grab a Pokéball, ready for battle. I roar to sound intimidating.

If I'm going to get caught, I might as well do it in style.


End file.
